Assignment 26: Cut to the Chase

[Filmmaking 101 overview]

Purpose: To keep things moving.

Basis: Films, unless you’re doing a foreign art flick, require you to keep things moving. And nothing needs moving like a chase scene. If you don’t cut fast enough, the whole thing feels like a stroll through a park, rather than an intense getaway. On the other hand, cut too quickly and the audience has no idea what’s happening: “Who just crashed? Why do I care?”

Directions: Dump the “Cut to the Chase” footage into your editing program and make it rock. Remember, show only the important moment of the clip. But don’t make the shot too short or you’ll lose the action in a blur of madness.

Looking Forward: A popular (and powerful) approach to filmmaking uses the graphics of games to get awesome looking shots. You’ll do that next.

What to Watch: "Quantum of Solace" chase scene. One of the absolute worst car chases ever cut together. There are a number of problems--none the least of which due to the fact that all the cars in the chase are black--but most of them have to do with the shots which are too close to the subject and the cuts which are way too fast for us to get excited... or even care. On the other hand, the chase scene from “Transporter” [PG-13] does not make any of these mistakes.

Watch Samples:


Even more Assignment 26 Samples and Student Examples